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Quote by dspellman

There were two questions in your original post. The second was "why not be absolutely classic?"The first was pretty easy -- just find the Gibson website and read the specs to see which ones don't have weight relief.

Here's the thing: "Absolutely classic," if you're talking "Gibson," doesn't really exist these days. The '58, '59 and '60 bursts were sought after because they had larger frets and humbucker pickups and burst finishes. They also come up at 8.5 - 9.5 lbs when weighed (I've played nearly 30 different serial numbers, thanks mostly to guitar shows and collectors in and around LA, a smallish percentage of the 800 or so surviving serial numbers known to exist and recorded on one notable site). Les Paul himself wanted the guitars to be made completely of maple, but Gibson argued that they'd be boat anchors if made of just that wood, so they refused. But the resultant guitars were never weight relieved, and the guitars that Gibson puts out these days are mostly noticeably heavier.

While Gibson itself has never really produced a great reissue of that guitar, there have been copies that have fooled experts done in garages and small workshops worldwide, and they fall into the original weight range without weight relief. But they're also in the $10K - $25K range. So much for "absolutely classic."

If you're going to deviate from "Absolutely classic" anyway, there are better ways to spend your money than on a headstock logo.

Nope. I didn't make this thread. and I'm pretty sure his "why not be absolutely classic?" question was rhetorical.

"Why not be absolutely classic" might include some of the following reasons:

It's hard to find an ebony fretboard on a Gibson any more.I like jumbo frets better than whatever Gibson has on its classics.I like 14-16" radius and compound radius fretboards on LP-style guitars.I like 1 3/4" nut width (when I can get them) on LPs.I like full thickness LPs without weight reliefI prefer polyester finishes to nitrocellulose (which is, if we're honest about it, revered only because it's a crap finish)I prefer guitars with neck-*through* construction, a shaved neck heel and better upper fret accessI prefer guitars with a tummy/rib cutI prefer not to pay big bucks for Gibsons that do NOT have these features.

And I sometimes like LPs that have Floyds. And 24 frets. And sometimes even 25.5" scale.

It doesn't say if you'd go used or not, so I'd recommend checking out the Squier Classic Vibe line. They're in the $350-400 range new and have a pretty good reputation.

Honestly, if you're looking for a "lighter" guitar, I think Squier/Fender are your best bet for solid bodies. You could always check out an Epiphone dot, but I don't know if the quality is as good as the Classic Vibes

I know, I know. Stupid question, you can't really "cheat" when it comes to playing an instrument, that's why I've put it in quotations.

So I guess the real question is do you miss out on something by playing a short scale versus a regular bass? especially when there's no physical reason for you doing so AKA you're a regular sized person who doesn't need a smaller version of the instrument?

on the flipside, if you buy an expensive guitar (let's say $4500) even if you can afford it there still needs to be some kinda other value from it. Either it's a guitar you'll have for life, or it's a collector's item that will appreciate in value, etc.

this is the largest point, but still. I'm sure we could all afford a $100 guitar, yet if that guitar is worse than taking a log from the woods and stringing it with barbed wires for strings then obviously no one's going to say that guitar is worth the money.

If you don't like the guitar then you can either keep it, and you might appreciate the guitar in the future when and if your tastes change or you can take the L, sell it for less than you paid and put it towards something you'll actually like.

Well I went into GC for a string cutter/winder today, aaaaaaand....ended up putting a used PRS SE singlecut on layway. $372 after tax and has some kinda SD pickup in the bridge instead of the stock pickup. stay tuned!

dannyalcatrazah don't get me started. I already have serious issues with how I have professors that are basically like "alright, I'm not gonna teach anything but I'll give tests and quizzes on the shit you're supposed to read" and how the whole "learning establishment" is basically, memorize it and be able to repeat it when asked. we'll say you've "learned" it

JAHellraiser Trading in a guitar that you like for one that is so fundamentally different, and then hoping you'll get the same enjoyment from a third guitar of a similar style to the first one makes you vulnerable to seller's remorse.

Whether its truly worth it or not really depends on how good this G&L feels to you vs. how your AM Strat feels. What is it about the G&L's that's different from the AM Strat you own which you fear you might miss?

to be honest...I'm not entirely sure. I like how mine looks (sunburst with a maple neck) but that's such a small part, plus it can obviously be replicated. I guess I fear I might miss the comfortability and trust in its overall quality. I mean I KNOW when I pick it up that I'll enjoy playing it. Hey it might be a bit out of tune, but once it's tuned up I have no fear about whether or not it'll do what I want (or should I say am able?) it to do. Excluding some freak accident, I know that the tuning pegs won't fall off when I turn them. I know the neck won't snap or do anything funky unless I mess with the truss rod. I know all the electronics are gonna work and the pickups will sound good, sure stock pickups aren't the greatest and some people might look down on them, but I know when I plug in that they'll do the damn thing.

Writing this out just makes me seem like I'm more confident in Fender's QC than Gibson's I mean hey, my Am strat was basically the second "top" of the production line (aka non-custon shop fenders) so maybe I'm just concerned that the SG won't be up to the same snuff as my strat

Called them four times on four different days at four different times. Got the machine - which was full - twice, got told to call back later once, and got redirected to a machine when I did. I love their pedals, but EHX has terrible customer support.

B9 is dropped off, should have the news from the shop sometime this week.

For what it's worth, I really liked my MIM Standard strat, but I still felt and heard a significant difference between it and my American Standard when I bought it. Then again the MIM was a 2003 and the MIA was a 1997, both of which are very different from 2017.

Maybe it's because I don't usually sell my gear, but I feel like selling a guitar you like to buy another guitar is opening yourself up to regretting your decision in a little while. How short are you of the SG's price?

well my strat is a 2011 so it's newer but not brand new.

I get what you guys are saying about seller's remorse though. It's like dumping a girlfriend you have a good relationship with just because you see someone better looking. You might not click with that better looking person and have anything as good as the other relationship.

alright, I'm at crossroads. I went back to guitar center yesterday and the SG I fell in love with is still there and I got a better look at it.

So it's a 2016 HP Gibson SG with mini-humbuckers. It's on "clearance sale" for $729, unfortunately I don't have that kinda cash laying around but I do have my American Standard Fender strat. So I figure if I trade in my strat, I should be able to get enough or at least very close to enough for the SG (especially if they do the 10% off trade-in/trade-up thing on a clearance sale item, which I'm hesitant to say they will).

Now don't get me wrong, I love my strat. I love the single coil strat sound, and the only thing I'm not the biggest fan of is the lacquer neck. Obviously I'm not worried about the trading them for their monetary value because they're both worth about the same price, but I feel like strats overall (and I may be wrong with this assumption) have less of a quality increase as you go up from the ~$500 mexi-strats to ~$1000 am strats. Sure they probably use better components, QC, etc. but I don't really feel or hear the difference that a few extra hundred dollars make. I played a G&L strat in the store yesterday as well that was $500 and I feel like it felt and sounded just as good as my $1000(when it was new) am strat.

So basically my thinking is: trade am strat for SG that has a great DIFFERENT sound that I love, and then down the road spend $300-500 on a Fender/Squier/G&L strat that I feel sounds and plays just as well as the initial Am strat I have.

what do you guys think? do you agree with me on the strat part? what would you choose if you were in my position? just a note about my band/guitar player tastes before anyone asks (cause UG always asks Hendrix and Frusciante are my 2 favorite players, but the rest of my players/tones that I like have that strong mid-range gibson/humbucker sound that I got out of the SG. so it's a real toss up

as far as differences between a LP and SG with identical pickups, wood, etc. from my research (just watching youtube videos of SG vs LP, not exactly scientific I know) SGs seem to put out a bit more bass.